China’s electric vehicle ambitions to take centre stage at Shanghai auto show
- Chinese purchases of pure electric and hybrid sedans and SUVs soared 60 per cent to 1.3 million last year
- Carmakers to display dozens of electric cars, from luxury SUVs to micro-compacts priced under US$10,000
This year’s Shanghai auto show highlights the global industry’s race to make electric cars Chinese drivers want to buy, as Beijing winds down subsidies that promoted sales. Auto Shanghai 2019 is being held from Thursday, April 18, to April 25.
The Chinese government is shifting the burden to carmakers by imposing mandatory sales targets for electric cars, adding to financial pressure on them amid a painful sales slump. Chinese purchases of pure electric and hybrid sedans and SUVs soared 60 per cent last year to 1.3 million – half the global total – but overall auto sales shrank 4.1 per cent to 23.7 million.
Buyers of electric cars were lured with subsidies of up to 50,000 yuan (US$7,400) a car, but that support was cut by half in January and ends next year.
“Competition is getting more fierce,” said industry analyst Paul Gong of UBS.
Beijing has been promoting electric cars for 15 years in hopes of cleaning smog-choked Chinese cities and gaining an early lead in a promising industry.
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General Motors, Volkswagen, Nissan and other global majors are developing models to suit Chinese tastes. They have money and technology, but local rivals have experience – brands including BYD Auto and BAIC Group have been selling low-priced electric cars for a decade.